Box-hinge.



Patented Feb. I9, 19!. G. GRUHLE.

BOX HINGE (Application filed Nov. 12, 1900.)

(No Model.)

CHARLES GRUHLE, OF MANITOWOO, WISCONSIN.

' BOX-HINGE.

SPEGIFICATiON forming part of Letters Patent no. 668,258, dated February19, 1961.. Application filed November 12, 1900. Serial No. 36,159. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, it may cancer-rt.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES GRUHLE, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Manitowoc, in the county of Manitowoc and State ofWisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBox-Hinges; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof.

My invention has especial reference to hinges for the lids ofcigar-boxes, though not necessarily restricted thereto; and it consistsin certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts, aswill be fully set forth hereinafter in connection with the accompanyingdrawings and subsequently claimed.

In the said drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through theback of a box embodying my present invention, taken on the planeindicated by the line 1 1 in Fig. 2, but with the lid of the box shownclosed in full lines and by dotted lines in the open posit-ion shown inFig. 2. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view through said box,with the lid in adjusted vertical or open position and the back of thebox partly broken away. Fig. 3 is a detail. horizontal sectional viewtaken on the line 3 3 in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective View ofone of my improved hinges detached from the box and lid.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the back of a box; B, thebottom; 0 O, the sides, and D the cover or lid, which lid instead ofbeing hinged to the back by a strip of paper or fabric, as is common incigar-boxes, is secured by my peculiar hinges and lid-holder to be nowdescribed.

E E represent a pair of sheet-metal keepers, one of which, E, is bestshown in Fig. 4, the same comprising a flat elongated plate with upperand lower prongs (marked a, and b b, respectively) and with one verticaledge turned inward at right angles to said plate to form a flange c. Theother keeper, E, is of the same construction, save that its flange c isformed on the opposite side edge of the keeper, so that when the saidkeepers are applied to the back A of the box, as shown, they willpractically form, in connection with said back, flat tubes closed ontheir outer rides and open on their inner sides, the prongs a beingdriven down from the top edge into the back A and the prongs b 6 beingdriven through said back and with their points clenched for greatersecurity, the prong a serving as one hinge member of each hinge, theother hinge member being the hooked lower end (1 of each wire F and F,(to be presently described,) as best shown in Fig. 4:.

Each wire Fand F consists of a single strip having its upper end 6 bentat a right angle and pointed or sharpened, whereby it may be driven intothe lid D from the inner face thereof, while intermediate of the saidupper end 9 and the described lower hook end 61 each wire is outwardlybent to form a loop or eye f, whereby the same may be further secured tothe lid D by a tack, nail, or screw g. The two wires F and F are exactlyalike in construction, but in use they are applied to the box-lid inreverse position, as shown, with their described loops or eyes f fturned toward each other, as shown in Fig. 2, the wire F being hinged tothe prong at of the keeper E and the wire F being similarly hinged tothe prong a of the keeper E.

The operation of my device will be readily understood from the foregoingdescription of its construction taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings. When the box is to be closed, the parts occupythe relative positions shown in full lines in Fig.1, and the box may beopened and shut in the ordinary manner on the described separable hingesa d; but when it is desired to keep the lid open then it is raised to avertical position and the described lower hooked ends (1 dot the wires FF are slid down between the flatplates ofthe keepers E E and the back Aof the box away from the said upper prongs of the said keeper's, therebyretaining said lid in its vertical position, as shown in Fig. 2 and bythe dotted linesin Fig. 1, the frictional hold of the lid being suchthat it may be supported at any elevation within the limits of thelength of the said keepers, so that the contents of the box may beexposed within a show-case when desired and the box conveniently removedtherefrom by using the said verticallyheld lid as a handle.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a box and its lid, of the hinging andlid-holding device, comprising a pair of keepers secured to the back ofsaid box and hinge members secured to said lid, said hinge membershaving means for separable hinged engagement with the upper ends of saidkeepers, whereby said lid may be opened or closed in the ordinarymanner, and means for vertically-sliding engagement with said keeperswhereby said lid may be held in a vertically open position.

2. The combination with a box and its lid, of a pair of keepers eachconsisting of a flanged plate secured by upper and lower prongs to theback of the box, and forming therewith an open tube, and a pair of wiressecured to Witnesses:

OTTO BIEGEL, JOE KEs'rLY.

